NURSING 737 - The Scholarship of Practice

This course acknowledges the ongoing cycle of knowledge development and evaluation that result from study, practice, reflection and/or research in a particular field of knowledge. Throughout this course students will explore how the dynamic interplay between knowing and doing across arange of levels and contexts create the scholarship of nursing practice, and how different forms of scholarship eventuate in a valued contribution to the promotion of health outcomes and well-being in society. This blended course has online and class learning activities.

The aim of this course is to bring forms of scholarship into relationship with each other, so that students conclude how forms of scholarship cannot exist in isolation. In this course nurses explore the meaning of clinical scholarship, and consider the advancement of nursing knowledge and the development of nursing. Nurses will reflect on the development of professional knowledge from a variety of perspectives including the wider healthcare environment, national and international trends as relevant to advancing nursing practice.

During this course students will be better able to:

1. Debate the meaning of the terms knowledge and scholarship.
2. Explore how practice knowledge is created, used and developed.
3. Articulate the nature and development of practice knowledge considering aspects such as professional development, accountability and responsibilities to improving health.
4. Explore the location of the profession of nursing within the wider health care environment (NZ- social, political, ethical).
5. Explore the national and international trends in health care and the influence on nursing.
6. Critically analyse the barriers and promoters that influence the advancement of nursing practice.
7. Explore ways of measuring outcomes of advanced nursing practice.
8. Discuss the contribution advanced nursing practice makes to implementing the government health goals and influencing the health of New Zealanders.